HMCo #1055s Judy

"During these years the class that is usually spoken of as the Fishers Island thirty-one-footers was slowly developing, but as there were not many of them built at once and because there was some variation in them, I do not speak of them as a one-design class. The first of them were straight sailboats with a gaff rig but the later ones were usually auxiliary with leg-o'-mutton rig.
While these yachts were not first designed for racing they have often done well in some of the ocean races and are well-built little ships that have been particularly liked by their owners; and some were built up to about 1935." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 306.)

"Fisher's Island Sound O.D. Class.
[#1054s] F.I. 1, Cyrilla IV, W. Barklie Henry
[#1055s] F.I. 2, Shantey, Eben Knowlton
[#1059s] F.I. 3, Chance, Arthur E. Whitney
[#1060s] F.I. 4, Mameena, George E. Watson" (Source: Anon. "Racing Numbers Long Island Sound Yacht Racing Association." Rudder, August 1928, p. 103.)

"... ... the name of the party who bought the Fishers Island Sound class 31 foot waterline sloop [#1061s Kestrel] which was built two years ago and stored [has not yet been made public]. When the class was built [in early 1927], four boats [#1054s F.I. 1, Cyrilla IV for W. Barklie Henry; #1055s F.I. 2, Shantey for Eben Knowlton; #1059s F.I. 3, Chance for Arthur E. Whitney; and #1060s F.I. 4, Mameena for George E. Watson] were ordered by summer residents of Watch Hill and the company built an extra boat. ..." (Source: Anon. "At Herreshoff Shops." Bristol Phoenix, January 15, 1928, p. 3.)

"Venturon, Fishers Island auxiliary sloop owned by William H. Young of Larchmont, won the 88-mile auxiliary race from Norwalk to Duck Island and return over the week-end of June 29 [1935] ..." (Source: Anon. "Venturon Wins the Norwalk Auxiliary." Rudder, 1935, vol. 51, [p. 53?].)

"... Venturon, forty-five feet and the smallest A class starter (the others being from fifty-four to seventy-six feet overall, placed second on corrected time [in the Mackinac race]. Now owned by H. F. MacNeil, secretary of the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, she is the same Venturon which had a string of East Coast firsts to her name before she was transferred to fresh water. ..." (Souce: Anon. [Title?] Rudder, 1943, vol. 60, [p. 125?].)

"1927. ... The Spring was a busy season with the builders and there was considerable buying and selling. Herreshoff's was building a mast for the big cutter Katoura [#1050s], said to be the tallest ever made at the plant. ...
In different stages of construction were a Newport 29 for William H. Vanderbilt [#999s Paddy], another R boat for Junius Morgan [#1053s Puffin], an S for I. B. Merriman [#1020s Vanessa], a 41-foot cutter for Elihu Root [#1057s Ti Navire], a 54-foot sloop for a New York yachtsman [#1058s Prestige], two of the Fisher's Island 31's [apparently #1054s Cyrilla IV and #1055s Judy] and the usual flock of 12 1/2-foot Bullseyes. ..." (Source: Davis, Jeff. Yachting in Narragansett Bay. Providence, 1946, p. 35.)

"... Walter Heinichen of the Chicago Yacht club has bought the 44 foot cutter Fortuna. ..." (Source: Heyes, Frank. "Following the Fleet." Chicago Tribune, April 29, 1962, part 2, section 2.)

"The Fishers Island Sound 31
The first keelboat class at Fishers was the graceful Herreshoff-designed and -built Fishers Island Sound 31, or FIS-31. The number refers to waterline length, considered the best indicator of a boat's speed. The class originated with a sailor at Watch Hill Yacht Club, W. Barklie Henry, which explains its name referring to local waters. In the Herreshoff yard's promotional materials, however, 'Sound' was deleted and the boats were called the 'Fishers Island One Design.' Obviously Fishers Island had a certain cachet among yachtsmen, or at least among yacht salesmen, for its name also was applied to two other boats, the Bullseye (called the 'Fishers Island Bullseye') and the Herreshoff 23 (the 'Fishers Island 23').
The FIS-31 is A. Sidney DeWolf Herreshoff's slightly larger version of one of his father's most successful pre-World War I boats, the Newport 29, one of which, the long-successful Dolphin [#727s], still sails in the Sound. Priced at $13,000 (the equivalent of about $130,000 today), the 31 was complete with everything needed to cruise, including china. By modern standards, accommodations are extremely skimpy, with only two cabins and a total of three bunks. This was a typical layout in a cruising boat of that era. The two bunks aft are for the owner's party, with their own enclosed head. Up in the bow was a tiny cabin, called the forepeak, with a single bunk and small toilet. That was the residence of the professional sailor in khaki uniform. He (it was always a he) scrubbed the decks, polished the brass, kept up the brightwork, washed the salt off all surfaces, and cooked the meals in a dark, narrow forward galley.
Beginning in 1929, six FIS-31S sailed out of Fishers Island: the Maxwell family's Kelpie [#1157s], Elisha H. Cooper's Surprise [#1156s], Arthur Whitney's Chance [#1059s], Mrs. Henry J. Fuller's Canuck [#1054s], Joseph H. Holmes's Qutee [#1154s], Pierre S. du Pont Ill's Aldebaran [#1060s], and Thomas W. Russell's Savage [#1153s] (now called Torch and on display at the Herreshoff Marine Museum). Kelpie was still raced hard after 50 years, and Surprise (renamed Patapsco) sailed around the world in the 1960s, reportedly with the loss only of a running backstay." (Source: Rousmaniere, John. Sailing at Fishers. Mystic, CT, 2004, p. 56.)

"H. Kristin Heinichen writes from Chicago, Illinois, with news that her father, Walter Heinichen, is-for a second time-restoring his 1927 Herreshoff Fishers Island 31 sloop. 'In 2003, he received a phone call that came at 3 a. m. to tell him that his classic wooden sailboat had caught fire, just three years after he had had FORTUNA completely restored. An arsonist had taken issue with that particular Chicago boatyard. FORTUNA, one of the few boats on the hard that July, was the only boat damaged in the blaze.
Not wanting to focus on the regrets that memories make, he shrugged and became resolved to fix his 45' LOA yacht again. FORTUNA not only has a pedigree but also has remained competitive: Before her irst restoration, even with 68 frames in desperate need of replacement from decades of heavy racing in Lake Michigan, she never betrayed him, though she took on her share of water.
After the fire, she sat in the worst disrepair to date. Her trunk cabin, toerail, transom, and mast were damaged, and more than 15 strakes of her double-planked hull were charred. My father chose a close-to-home wooden boat craftsman, Billy McCaffrey of Waukegan, Illinois, to put things right. That was nine years ago, and the work is progressing slowly, with McCaffrey's characteristic precision. My father, in the meantime, purchased a fiberglass sailboat to keep himself in the running for the Chicago-Mackinac Island Race. which this July will mark his 56th year as a contender. But he has not forsaken the mothballed FORTUNA. Rather, he muses that she is named after the goddess of fortune who brings both good luck and bad. She stands lo represent life's capriciousness, and after nearly four decades of ownership he knows to love her at his own peril." (Source: Anon. "Currents." Woodenboat July/August 2012, p. 21-22.)

"... the owner of 'Fortuna', a Herreshoff Fishers Island 31, has died. The family is hoping to find someone to save the boat, which I understand needs extensive restoration. She is located in Waukeegan Illinois, North of Chicago. I knew the boat well from my days as a Sailmaker in Chicago, and would hate to see her go un-rescued, as the F.I. 31's were and are important boats. ..." (Source: Anon (Highwayman110). Post at the WoodenBoat Forum, August 11, 2020. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?268983-Fisher-s-Island-31-quot-Fortuna-quot-needs-saving!&highlight=herreshoff, retrieved August 29, 2020.)

"Although the Fishers Island Yacht Club was involved with the Fishers Island 31-footers by virtue of a few of its members owning them, that class does not appear to have been Club-sponsored. One should think of the letters 'FIS' on the sails of these boats as standing for Fishers Island Sound, the body of water in which the boats usually sailed. W. Barklie Henry, of the nearby Watch Hill Yacht Club, originated the idea for such a boat and ordered the first one, Cyrilla IV [#1054s], late in 1926. Three of his friends, thinking that his idea was sound, also ordered boats for 1927 delivery. Except for two others which were built in 1929 and sold elsewhere, the four original boats had things pretty much to themselves for the first three seasons. Then, in 1930, five more boats, some owned in Fishers Island and some in Watch Hill, joined the racing. Cirrus, then Kelpie [#1157s], was the last boat of this second batch and wasn't delivered until late August. ...
The Fishers Island 31-footers, although based on the Newport 29­footers and presumed to have been basically laid down from their offsets, (a blow-up, incidentally, of those for Alerion, had some rather significant changes made from the original model. It is likely that the new profile (longer ends, deeper keel, more raking sternpost, straighter sheer) und deck line to match were established by means of a scale drawing. However, the fairing of the lines to these new end points, according to Sidney Herreshoff, was done right on the mold loft floor - full size. Sidney was a most modest man, reluctant to take complete credit for much of what he did, but he did admit (on a taped interview) that his father was in Florida for the winter while this work was going on and that he, Sidney, was in charge of executing the needed changes. I'd say he did well!" (Source: Bray, Maynard. "A Look at the Class." Woodenboat #34, May/June 1980, p. 34.)

"[Item Transcription:] [Printed circular, two sheets of paper:] New York Yacht Club The Cruise 1927
Additional Racing Instructions Run From Huntington To New London—16Th August
In case of no wind at Huntington at the proposed time of the Start on the 16th August, the following signals will be made by the Flagship: etc. ... [Plus printed circular:] New York Yacht Club
List of yachts, measurement certificates of which were on file with the Race Committee on August 1, 1927, which will be valid for the Cruise.
SCHOONERS: C Class
C 2 OHONKARA [#827s]
C 7 VAGRANT [#719s]
C 3 VANITIE
D Class: D 25 ADVANCE
D 7 CONSTANCE
D 22 WILDFIRE [#891s]
D 5 LYNX
E Class: E 4 AURELIA
E 9 QUEEN MAB [#698s]
E16 SHAWNA
F Class: F3 CURLEW
F 4 MARY ROSE [#954s]
F 1 PLEIONE [#714s]
F 11 CACHALOT
G Class: S.C. 11 CLYTIE
S.C. 12 NADJI
S.C. 9 NOKOMIS
S.C. 6 SEVEN SEAS
G 1 WANDERER IX
G 7 MALABAR VII
H Class: H 3 FLYING FISH
H 2 ADVENTURER
KETCH: H 7 ANGELICA
SLOOPS
J Class: J 1 KATOURA [#1050s]
L.0. Class: L.0. 1 GEORGIA
L.0. 4 GREY DAWN
L.0. 5 MIRAGE
L.0. 3 NIMBUS
M Class: M 5 CAROLINA [#721s]
M 3 CHIORA [#713s ex-IROQUOIS II]
M 38 DOLLY
M 4 IBIS [#715s ex-GRAYLING]
M 1 PRESTIGE [#1058s]
M 6 SPARTAN [#712s]
10 Meter Class: 10M 9 BLAZING STAR
10M 7 BRANTA
10M 4 CYTHERA
10M 11 DRAGON
10M 8 ESQUILA
10M 6 NARCISSUS
10M 14 NAUTILUS
10M 10 RAEBURN
10M 12 REDHEAD
10M 10 REVENGE
10M 13 SHAWARA
10M 3 SYNTHETIC
10M 1 TWILIGHT
10M 5 VALENCIA
N Class: N 2 ALICE
P Class: P 1 BUTTERFLY [#586s ex-NELLIE]
50 Class: N. Y. Y. C. 52 ANDIAMO [#716s ex-SAMURI]
40 Class: N. Y. Y. C. 42 COCKATOO [#775s ex-DOLLY BOWEN]
N. Y. Y. C. 50 MARILEE [#955s]
N. Y. Y. C. 46 MISTRAL [#774s]
N. Y. Y. C. 47 PAMPERO [#781s ex-PAMPARO]
N. Y. Y. C. 45 TYPHOON [#773s ex-MAISIE]
N. Y. Y. C. 49 ROWDY* [#776s]
30 Class: N. Y. 1 ALERA [#626s]
N. Y. 7 ALICE [#632s ex-TABASCO]
N. Y. 9 AMORITA [#635s ex-ADELAIDE II]
N. Y. 15 BANZAI [#640s]
N. Y. 4 INTERLUDE [#629s ex-MAID OF MEUDON]
N. Y. 5 LENA [#630s ex-PINTAIL]
N. Y. 11 ORIOLE [#637s]
N. Y. 13 PHANTOM [#648s ex-MINX]
N. Y. 17 PHRYNE (Rig changed to jib-headed mainsail.) [#643s]
Q Class: F. I. S. 3 CHANCE [#1059s]
F. I. S. 1 CYRILLA II [#1054s]
F. I. S. 2 JUDY [#1055s]
F. I. S. 4 MAMEENA [#1060s]
YAWLS M Class: N. Y. 51 REVERY [#720s ex-ACUSHLA]
M 1 RUGOSA II [#983s]
... August 1, 1827. [Compared to the equivalent list from 1924 the number of boats has increased from 49 to 73, while the number of Herreshoff-built yachts has shrunk from 37 to 32 or 44%.] [Incl envelope from Race Committee NYYC to NGH, labeled in red 'Rating & allowance' and postmarked August 4, 1927.]" (Source: NYYC. Correspondence (circular) to Members. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_73330. Measuring and Measurement Rules (Box 2), Folder B2F07, formerly MRDE15. 1927-08-01.)
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"[Item Transcription:] I was very glad to have your letter of February 14th, and to feel that you had some sympathy for my troubles in getting steel and bronze for the metal boats [#1078s THISTLE and #1074s SHEERNESS]. It finally arrived and we are now working overtime getting the steel in place.
Mr. Tod is of course somewhat uneasy, but considering that we have practically all of the interior ready for him, also the decking, deck erections, rig and rigging, etc., he is so far very nice about the delay and of course I don't expect any troubles in finishing his boat [#1078s THISTLE] at the beginning of May, which should be early enough.
He is all wrought up about the coming summer and considering what a dismal summer he had last year and how nice he has treated us, we certainly all hope that he will get a very satisfactory boat and that the saying will come true that the KATOURA [#1050s] was his folly of 1927 and that the new boat will be his ketch of 1928.
Mr. Sheppey's boat [#1074s SHEERNESS] is overboard and out in the Yard under cover in the new Shed, and we are finishing her up as fast as we can. The same thing is the case with Mr. Morgan's boat [#384p SHUTTLE], and we are now laying the keel for Mr. Vanderbilt's boat [#385p VARA] according to your suggestion, that is, parallel with our slip so that she will be water-borne at the stern before the aftermost cradle leaves the slide. This will of course put an enormous strain on the forward slide but the under pinning being almost new we don't expect any troubles, besides that the boat won't be launched before you arrive in Bristol, and no doubt you will give us necessary advice of how to go about the launching.
As far as new boats are concerned, that is building stock boats to keep our carpenters going, I would like to say that your suggestion of building an additional Fisher's Island 31-Footer is very good, but it has its drawbacks because we have already one of these boats [#1061s KESTREL] in the yard, and one of the last year's boats [apparently #1055s JUDY which changed owners prior to the 1928 sailing season] is for sale for considerable less money than we charge for a new boat. Besides that it seems that people are not so keen about getting perfectly well behaved, roomy boats as some kind of narrow canoes that appeal to the eye. It is really pitiful to see in what direction [p. 2] the present boat designing is heading. It is long, narrow, extremely expensive boats without any accommodations whatsoever, for instance you will remember the PRESTIGE [#1058s] which with her 80-feet over all and 54 1/2-Ft. waterline had only one main cabin and one double stateroom. This is of course all right for a man with Mr. Vanderbilt's purse, but it practically puts everybody else out of the game, however, let us hope that the pendulum soon will swing the other way, and that the boats instead of being afternoon boats will be real homes on the sea, the way a boat of course should be.
When I was in New York the other day Mr. Nichols showed me some figures computed by Mr. W. K. Shaw and these figures showed plainly what the present cost of running a 50-Footer amounts too, and, believe me or not, but he made it perfectly plain and Mr. Nichols agreed to it, that the cost of running a 50-Footer today amounts to an average of Eighteen Thousand Dollars a year. This is of course something which cannot be kept up forever.
We are making an addition to the gangway between the Mill and the upper part of the North Shop, an addition long enough (25 ft.) so that we can get more space for our cabinet shop, which so far has been very cramped indeed. This addition makes me somewhat uneasy in case of a fire and I have strongly put it to Mr. Haffenreffer that we must install a sprinkler system in the Shops as soon as possible so as to have whatever protection we can get against fire, and I take it that Mr. Haffenreffer will approach the Grinnell people within a few days.
I have done some scouting for more work for the Shop to be started as soon as Mr. Tod's boat leaves the yard, and I have very good hopes of getting one Composite 'M' Boat and a 120-Foot Power Boat, both boats probably will be to outside design. If we can get these two orders and they are reasonably well under way before the first of August I hope to be able to go home to Finland so as to be present with my whole gang when my Mother becomes seventy years old on the first of September, but this is of course only a dream so far and it is very doubtful if it ever will come true. [Neither of these two boats was built.]
The family is in first class shape except for Margaret who still is very tired, and I certainly hope that everything is all right in Cocoanut Grove.
Very truly yours, ..." (Source: Nystrom, Charles. Letter to N.G. Herreshoff. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MR_05940. Correspondence, Folder 21, formerly 141. 1928-02-20.)
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"[Item Description:] Spreadsheet listing original contracts (from 1923 to 1940) by HMCo in the collection of HMM (apparently from the gift of Everett Pearson). Listed boats are: #380p, #381p, #388p, #389p, #391p, #392p, #393p, #395p, #886s, #933s, #934s, #954s, #955s, #962s, #983s, #999s, #1002s, #1017s, #1054s, #1055s, #1057s, #1074s, #1078s, #1122s, #1125s, #1130s, #1131s, #1147s, #1152s, #1153s, #1154s, #1156s, #1157s, #1164s, #1170s, #1173s, #1174s, #1175s, #1175s, #1176s, #1177s, #1179s, #1180s, #1191s, #1192s, #1193s, #1195s, #1196s, #1198s, #1199s, #1200s, #1201s, #1202s, #1203s, #1206s, #1207s, #1208s, #1209s, #1210s, #1211s, #1212s, #1213s, #1214s, #1215s, #1216s, #1217s, #1218s, #1219s, #1220s, #1222s, #1224s, #1236s, #1226s, #1227s, #1228s, #1230s, #1232s, #1234s, #1237s, #1238s, #1240s, #1241s, #1243s, #1244s, #1245s, #1246s, #1247s, #1248s, #1249s, #1250s, #1251s, #1252s, #1253s, #1254s, #1255s, #1256s, #1257s, #1258s, #1259s, #1260s, #1261s, #1262s, #1263s, #1264s, #1265s, #1274s, #1275s, #1277s, #1279s, #1280s, #1281s, #1282s, #1283s, #1284s, #1285s, #1286s, #1287s, #1302s, #1303s, #1315s, #1508s." (Source: Rickson, Norene (creator). Table. Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection Item LIB_4220. HMM Library Rare Books Room (HMCo Contracts), Folder [no #]. No date (2010s ?).)
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Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #1055s Judy even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Anon. "The Fisher's Island Sound One-Design Class." Yachting, April 1928, p. 96. (686 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Fishers Island 31 class description.
• Anon. "Herreshoff Fisher's Island 31-Footers." Rudder, September 1931, p. 57. (800 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Fishers Island 31 class description.
• Bray, Maynard. "A Look at the Class." Wooden Boat #34, May/June 1980, p. 42-48. (409 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes, used with permission. Copyright holder: Maynard Bray (text).
• Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. [Contract for #1055s Judy, Fishers Island 31.] Herreshoff Marine Museum Collection. Bristol, RI, December 6, 1926. (1,773 kB)
  Document is copyrighted: Yes. Copyright holder: Herreshoff Marine Museum. Original building/sales contract. Vessel description, scantlings, payment terms, delivery date.

• Judy (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Judy (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

Name: Judy
Type: J & M
Length: 31'6"
Owner: Buckner, Mortimer N.

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

• Judy
• Shanty ex-Judy
• Venturon ex-Judy
• Note: The L. Francis Herreshoff index cards comprise a set of some 1200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and / or ownership information. Apparently compiled in the early 1930s, for later HMCo-built boats like the Fishers Island 23s or the Northeast Harbor 30s are not included. Added to in later decades, apparently by L. F. Herreshoff as well as his long-time secretary Muriel Vaughn and others. Also 46 cards of L. F. Herreshoff-designed vessels. The original set of index cards is held by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.

Name: Judy
Type: 31' 8" aux. sloop
Owner: Morton N. Buckner
Year: 1927
Row No.: 328

Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Partial List of Herreshoff-Built Boats." In: Herreshoff, L. Francis. Capt. Nat Herreshoff. The Wizard of Bristol. New York, 1953, p. 325-343.

Month: Dec
Day: 08
Year: 1926
E/P/S: S
No.: 1055
Name: Judy
OA: 43' 3"
LW: 31' 6"
B: 10' 8"
D: 6' 0"
Rig: J & M
K: y
Ballast: Lead Outside
Amount: 13500.00
Notes Constr. Record: 1054 Class.. Teak Finish.
Last Name: Buckner
First Name: Morton(?) M.

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

"Sail number F.I.S. 2 in 1927 as per New York Yacht Club: List of yachts, measurement certificates of which were on file with the Race Committee on August 1, 1927, which will be valid for the Cruise." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 5, 2017.)

"Date of delivery 'on or about May 27, 1927' from original contract in collection of Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 15, 2015.)

"Built in 170 days (contract to delivered; equivalent to $79/day, 115 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"Displacement 19,466lbs from 2007 WoodenBoat Register." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.